‘Digital arrest’ fraud: Senior citizen in Surat loses Rs 2.96 cr
A senior citizen in Surat, Prabhubhai Patel, lost more than Rs 2.96 crore to a fraud known as "digital arrest." The victim, 82-year-old Prabhubhai Patel, a former Non-Resident Indian (NRI) based in Surat, received a series of fake calls and messages from people posing as Mumbai Police officers. The fraudsters threatened Patel with arrest due to an alleged case of money laundering involving his Aadhaar card data and a bank account.
According to Patel, the fraudsters claimed that his family and house were under surveillance, and all his bank accounts would be frozen unless he complied with their demands. Patel, who moved to Surat from the US in 1980, transferred the fraudulent sum between August 11 and 21. Patel only informed the police after discussing the matter with his sons in the US on August 31.
The Bardoli police have registered an offence against unidentified perpetrators and are cooperating with cyber crime investigation teams to apprehend the criminals.
Written by urgent.news from The Indian Express's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
